Indias security challenges are no longer confined to the Line of Control or the Line of Actual Control.They also span cyber networks, economic systems, information warfare, technology ecosystems, maritime routes, and internal social cohesion.IMAGE: Army personnel display their preparedness along the Line of Control in Kupwara, Jammu and Kashmir, May 20, 2025.
Photograph: ANI PhotoKey PointsChina will always exploit Pakistan to keep India continuously boxed in South Asia.The national interest of Pakistan and China is to destabilise India.Just like Hamas and Hezbollah are proxies of Iran, similarly Pakistan is a proxy of China.
Bangladesh and Myanmar are also headed in that direction, if they havent already reached there.
One Operation Sindoor will not end terror.
Terror will manifest in some other fashion somewhere else and we have to be vigilant all the time, says retired Lieutenant General Sanjay Kulkarni.The general commanded a brigade and a division on the Line of Actual Control and was decorated with the Shaurya Chakra for leading his platoon to unfurl the Tricolour in Bilafondla on the Siachen Glacier.In an interview with Rediffs Archana Masih, General Kulkarni discusses the strategic and military impact of Operation Sindoor, the key lessons learnt from the operation and offers insights into the demands and evolving nature of modern conflicts.A year on after Operation Sindoor, what do you think are some of our lasting lessons learnt going forward? First and foremost, we must not be complacent.Secondly, we must be alert, 24x7x365.
We should use both technology and human intelligence to ensure that there are no sleeper cells, no transfer of funds towards acts of terror.Surveillance systems, cyber monitoring, AI-driven analysis, financial tracking, and ground-level human inputs all have to complement one another.Weve already seen how educated, intelligent, doctors can also get involved in White Collar Terror like in the Red Fort case.Ordinary citizens also need a greater sense of awareness.
They must be alert, informed, and responsible.
In modern conflict, every citizen is a soldier now.Like the Agni Veers in the defence services, we need a national service programme of young Agni Bans comprising digitally capable citizens who can contribute in cyber defence, AI systems, infrastructure monitoring, and data analysis.The future battlefield is not confined to borders anymore; it runs through servers, communication systems, airports, banks, stock exchanges, and power grids.Even during Op Sindoor, there were 1.5 million cyber attacks on the National Stock Exchange.Disruptions to electricity, communications, financial systems, or airlines can create chaos without conventional war.Another lesson is that technology alone is not enough.
India is investing in drones, AI, surveillance systems, missile defence, and advanced communication platforms which are extremely essential.
But technology only works when used effectively.Modern security requires not just equipment, but trained manpower, coordination, adaptability, and rapid decision-making.Operation Sindoor also reinforced the importance of self-reliance in defence manufacturing.
Conflicts around the world -- from Ukraine to Iran -- have shown that even technologically advanced militaries struggle when wars drag on and supply....
